Overview
- The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court began a three‑day final hearing this week to hear the state government’s appeal against the Mapusa sessions court acquittal from 2021 and will reserve judgment after the arguments conclude.
- Defence counsel Aabad Ponda told the court the complainant’s statements contain material contradictions and relied on courtroom‑played CCTV, lift experts and hotel security testimony to argue the footage and technical evidence do not match her account.
- The State, led in court by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, urged the judges to treat the complainant as a credible witness and said the trial court misread her testimony when it acquitted Tejpal.
- Participants flagged factual gaps in the record, including missing first‑floor DVR footage, and the court limited CCTV viewing to those in the courtroom while examining whether technical proof or inconsistencies warrant overturning the acquittal.
- The case carries wider public weight because the 2013 allegation involved a colleague in a hotel lift, the 2021 in‑camera trial drew criticism for intrusive cross‑examination of the survivor, and the High Court decision will determine whether the matter proceeds further or the acquittal stands.